


We'll survive, you and I

by raelilac



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Jyn Erso-centric, Optimistic Ending, POV Jyn Erso, POV Third Person, i would die for jyn and cassian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:22:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28434579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raelilac/pseuds/raelilac
Summary: Kneeling on the damp sand of Scarif, it was not how Jyn had envisioned her death.orJyn reflects on her life while hugging Cassian
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	We'll survive, you and I

**Author's Note:**

> Watched Rouge one and felt kinda inspired. Enjoy this little drabbled I wrote to get back into writing because it's been a minute since I wrote something I felt good about :)

Jyn Erso was going to die, yet she was not afraid. Over her twenty-one years, her fingers had brushed those of death more times than she could count. Death had never been a stranger to Jyn, rather a constant reminder of what would always be. Her first true encounter had been at seven, it was a memory muddled with repression and guilt. Krennic had come to take her father, that part remained clear. It hadn't been a surprise; her parents had always made it evident that their life on Lah'mu was nothing but temporary. It was hard to recall what exactly happened after Orson Krennic arrived, only flashes remained. The sound of blasters, a scream, the thump her mother's body made as it crumpled to the damp ground. These hints of the past remained ingrained within the deepest part of her subconscious, continually emerging somewhere between dying dreams and flourishing nightmares. 

Kneeling on the damp sand of Scarif, it was not how Jyn had envisioned her death. Death was inevitable, Jyn knew that, nevertheless she chose not to give it more thought than necessary, it was easier to risk her own neck if she wasn't plagued by worst-case scenarios. But, of course, she was only human, inevitably in the few and far between moments when there was nothing to preoccupy her mind, the prospect of demise made itself known. Jyn knew she would die young, it didn't bother her, in her mind, it was better to die young than grow old under imperial rule. Before the alliance, she had been certain she would meet the end alone, fighting a losing battle. Nevertheless, she would have gone out with a bang, scratching, and clawing until she no longer could. Before the alliance, Jyn Erso's death would have meant nothing, just another causality of imperial rule, forgotten before her last breath passed her lips. 

Everything had seemed so dull before joining the rebellion before Cassian. Each day was spent surviving, making it to see the sunrise again. The last five years had been solely about herself, after all, it was better to be alone than put trust in another. At first, Saw's abandonment had seemed like the beginning of the end, the daughter of the most valued imperial scientist alone, with nowhere and no one. But Jyn did not believe in fate, she may have been alone, but she was not lost, survival was as familiar as breathing to Jyn, she had to, therefore she would. In solitude there was strength, in self there was perseverance. Time moved differently on the run from the empire, no longer measured in minutes or hours, rather how much imperial blood could be spilled. Jyn Erso was not afraid of death, for she had brought it on others, it was only fair that it would be exacted on herself one day. Under imperial rule, killing and survival fused, one could not be obtained without the other. She remembered the first death caused by her hands, it had been a stormtrooper, she was fifteen. The rush of blood and pound of her heart remained when she pulled the trigger to this day. To take a life had been easier than once anticipated, after all, it was her life or theirs. From that moment on, her silent promise had been sealed, it would always be them, not her. 

It felt like a lifetime ago, the girl who evaded the empire would always be Jyn, however, Jyn was no longer her. In a matter of days from being rescued from the prison truck to cradling her father, Jyn had come to the stark realization, oppression would always be met with resilience. For the first time in all her years did she truly understand, one could not exist without the other. Jyn Erso had made her decision, no longer was she alone, evading the empire to no avail, she was the rebellion. 

This mission had been a shot in the dark, every odd had been stacked against them, but fate seemed to have a soft spot for the rebels. Despite everything, the rebels prevailed, the death star plans had been successfully transmitted. Jyn knew she wouldn't be there to see the empire fall, but nevertheless, it would fall, because of her, because of the rebellion. 

No words needed to be spoken between Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor. Embracing in the sand, Jyn's eyes remained open, taking in the beauty of life one final time. A life of survival had always left little room to appreciate anything besides staying viable. She had never been one to waste her time on anything other than what was to come, but now, it seemed like an opportunity missed. The warm glow of sun washing over her dirty skin could only be comparable to the feeling of being in Cassian's arms, something she hadn't felt since she was a child. Closing her eyes, Jyn Erso greeted death as not a survivor, but a hero.


End file.
